Category Archives: Innibos National Craft Awards

Acclaimed master crafter Rebecca Matibe achieved international fame for her traditional Venda pots and now grandson Dennis Makonyololo is determined to keep her legacy alive.

Although Rebecca is no longer a full-time potter, she can rest easy knowing that she has taught Dennis everything she knows and that the magic that has been passed down the generations will continue to be used to shape beautiful, timeless pots.

Making pottery is a traditional Venda craft dating back centuries. The pots are both decorative and functional. Marked with angular graphite designs and burnished with ochre, every piece is a unique work of art.

Dennis, 25, became a full-time ceramicist in 2015. He is now an accomplished craftsman in his own right and has entered a range of pots into the second National Craft Competition, which is open for entries until April 20.

Just like his grandmother before him, Dennis digs the clay he uses from the river in their village in the Vhembe district of the Limpopo province.

It is his dream to teach local youngsters how to do pottery to combat unemployment and idleness.

National Craft Competition

Anyone can enter. There is no cost. Simply take a photo of your entry – next to a matchbox for size of scale, and either email it to crafts@innibos.co.za or send it to 071 621 3597 via MMS or WhatsApp.

Remember to include your name, the town in which you live and your contact details.

Entrants who have not heard from the organisers within 30 days of the closing date must take it as given that they did not make the shortlist for final judging. Sixty entries will be shortlisted, and these will form part of an exhibition to be held in Mbombela during the Innibos National Arts Festival from June 24 to 30, 2018.

The finalists must be available to attend the awards evening on Sunday, June 24, at which the winners will be announced.

The winner will receive R50 000, R20 000 will be awarded for the second placed entry and third place will earn R15 000. There will also be merit awards for the Best Emerging Craftsmen, along with sound financial advice to grow their business. In addition, a Craft Retail Apprenticeship with Tourvest Destination Retail will be bestowed on one of the winners.

The 25-year-old resident of Paarl in the Western Cape entered a large mosaic that grittily captures the figure of a woman, into the 2018 National Craft Competition being held under the auspices of the Innibos Arts Festival.

The competition is the only national platform to recognise the excellence in skill of South Africans crafters and was held for the first time in 2017. The inaugural competition attracted almost 800 entries.

Garnett says that news of the competition was well received because it gives crafters an opportunity for their work to get wider exposure. “This is a way of creating conversations about crafts and of craft finding its rightful place in our current society… for it not just to be seen as a craft but an art form,” he says.

“Art is meant to be shared and not kept hidden in a studio. Works of art should spark conversations, not just between art enthusiasts but the public at large. They should evoke emotion, but most importantly, they should tell a story of hard work and perseverance.”

He fell in love with the mosaic genre while a student at the Kimberley Art Centre and started doing mosaics full time in 2014. “I am always learning and always perfecting my skill,” he says.

How to enter

Crafters have until April 20, 2018, to enter. They need simply take a photo of their entry – next to a matchbox for size of scale, and either email it to crafts@innibos.co.za or send it to 071 621 3597 via MMS or WhatsApp. There is no entry fee.

Remember to include your name, the town in which you live and your contact details.

Entrants who have not heard from the organisers within 30 days of the closing date must take it as given that they did not make the shortlist for final judging. Sixty entries will be shortlisted and these will form part of an exhibition to be held in Mbombela during the Innibos National Arts Festival from June 24 to 30, 2018.

The finalists must be available to attend the awards evening on Sunday, June 24, at which the winners will be announced.

The winner of the Platinum Award will receive R50 000, the Gold Award winner will pocket R20 000 and the Silver R15 000. There will also be merit awards for the Best Emerging Craftsmen, along with sound financial advice to grow their business. In addition, a Craft Retail Apprenticeship with Tourvest Destination Retail will be bestowed on one of the winners.

The winner of last year’s inaugural National Craft Awards, Thami Kitty, says that winning the competition generated much interest in his work.

His range of intricately carved walking sticks impressed the judges enough for him to take first prize from among a host of world-class crafters who had entered what is the country’s only national craft competition.

The resident of Khayelitsha in the Western Cape travelled to Mpumalanga’s capital city of Mbombela for the awards evening in mid-2017, where he not only pocketed R50 000 in prize money but was given the chance to network with the who’s in the South African craft sector.

Proudly Xhosa, Thami says his work is ‘all about my culture’. Most of his carvings depict animals – either so realistically rendered that you almost expect to see them breathe, or created with whimsy and humour.

He started carving in 1992 when he was in his early 20s but as a child growing up in rural Transkei without commercially bought toys, he would go to the river to collect clay to make animals. This early dabbling in clay led to drawing and eventually, after school, to wood carving.

Today, Thami’s work has been included in a number of exhibitions.

National Premier Craft Competition 2018

If you think you are another Thami, then submit a photo of your work for consideration.

Crafters have until April 20, 2018, to enter. They need simply take a photo of their entry – next to a matchbox for size of scale, and either email it to crafts@innibos.co.za or send it to 071 621 3597 via MMS or WhatsApp. There is no entry fee.

Remember to include your name, the town in which you live and your contact details.

Entrants who have not heard from the organisers within 30 days of the closing date must take it as given that they did not make the shortlist for final judging. Sixty entries will be shortlisted and these will form part of an exhibition to be held in Mbombela during the Innibos National Arts Festival from June 24 to 30, 2018.

The finalists must be available to attend the awards evening on Sunday, June 24, at which the winners will be announced.

The winner of the Platinum Award will receive R50 000, the Gold Award winner will pocket R20 000 and the Silver R15 000. There will also be merit awards for the Best Emerging Craftsmen, along with sound financial advice to grow their business. In addition, a Craft Retail Apprenticeship with Tourvest Destination Retail will be bestowed on one of the winners.

The inaugural National Premier Craft Competition in 2017 attracted almost 800 entries and organisers John Anthony Boerma and Jan Bhuda of Art Aid Africa are confident that even more crafters will seize the opportunity offered by the 2018 competition to showcase their creativity and skill. Continue reading Craft excellence to be celebrated→